Brood XIV Periodical Cicadas in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed
Here are some sights and sounds from the ongoing emergence of Brood XIV Periodical Cicadas in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.
We begin in the easternmost spur of the lower basin where a sizeable emergence of cicadas can be seen and heard in the woodlands surrounding the headwaters of the Conestoga River in Berks County north of Morgantown. This flight extends east into Chester County and the French Creek drainage of the Schuylkill River watershed on State Game Lands 43 north of Elverson and consists of Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas (Magicicada septendecim), the most common species among 17-year broods.
A Brood XIV Pharaoh Periodical Cicada at State Game Lands 43 identified by the red bar extending from the eye to the wing root.The underside of the abdomen on a male Pharaoh Periodical Cicada showing the wide orange bars on each segment.Exuvia of a recently emerged Pharaoh Periodical Cicada.Soon after landing on a perch, a male Pharaoh Periodical Cicada will usually announce his presence by singing. It’s an attempt to quickly attract potential mates that may be in the vicinity.Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas ascending the branches of an oak.Gatherings of thousands of singing male Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas create a distinctive droning chorus.A receptive female will make a click sound with her wings to summon a suitable singing male for mating.While usually occurring in the safety of the trees, the breeding frenzy can spill over onto the ground where we happened to find this copulating pair.After mating, female cicadas make slits in the end twigs of selected trees into which they lay their eggs. The process of egg-laying and larval emergence will usually wilt and kill end growth on the affected branches, causing little harm to healthy trees. It’s similar to the trim you might give to a bonsai plant to keep it stout and sturdy.How long do Periodical Cicadas live? Well, by last week, we were already finding dead specimens by the thousands. Most of them had already completed their breeding cycle and planted the seeds for a new generation of Brood XIV cicadas.A deceased Pharaoh Periodical Cicada at the Fire Tower Parking Area at French Creek State Park. This specimen and a chorus on the hill’s forested south slope were the northeastern-most evidence of Brood XIV Periodical Cicadas we could find for the population cluster in portions of Berks, Chester, and Lancaster Counties around Morgantown.The abundance of Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas on State Game Lands 43 in Chester County has attracted numerous raptors, particularly wandering one-year-old birds that aren’t quite mature enough to nest. Among the sightings have been Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, and at least three Mississippi Kites, a rarity on the Piedmont this far inland from the coastal plain. (See the post from June 5, 2021, for details on the occurrence of Mississippi Kites in northernmost Delaware during the Brood X emergence.)
From Route 82 north of Elverson to the west through the forested areas along Route 10 north of Morgantown and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, we found an abundance of Cassin’s Periodical Cicadas (Magicicada cassini) calling among the Pharaohs. This mix of Pharaoh and Cassin’s Periodical Cicadas extends west along the north side of the turnpike into Lancaster County and State Game Lands 52 on Black Creek north of Churchtown.
A Brood XIV Cassin’s Periodical Cicada at State Game Lands 52 is identified by the all-black margin between the eye and the wing root and……the black underside of the abdomen with no orange stripes.To penetrate the sounds of the more common Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas, male Cassin’s Periodical Cicadas gather in large concentrations to generate a loud, oscillating chorus. Its surging volume will usually exceed that of the Pharaohs singing in the vicinity.Mated Cassin’s Periodical Cicadas copulating at State Game Lands 52.The underside of copulating Cassin’s Periodical Cicadas.A pair of Cassin’s Periodical Cicadas at state Game Lands 52 in Lancaster County.
Further west in Cornwall, Lebanon County, a Brood XIV emergence can be found on similar forested terrain: the Triassic hills of the Newark Basin—rich in iron ore and renowned for furnace operations during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas were the only species heard among this population that extends from Route 72 east through the woodlands along Route 322 into the northern edge of State Game Lands 156 in Lancaster County.
On the west side of the Susquehanna, yet another isolated population of Brood XIV Periodical Cicadas can be found in Perry County, just south of Duncannon on State Game Lands 170 on the slopes of “Cove Mountain”, the canoe-shaped convergence of the western termini of Peters and Second Mountains.
Pharaoh Periodical Cicadas dominated this Perry County chorus,…
…but we did detect at least one Cassin’s Cicada trying to find a mate.
A solitary Cassin’s Periodical Cicada issues a lonely song of short buzzes and ticking notes on State Game Lands 170. Fragmented populations, especially those that are only able to fly and increase their distribution every 17 years, often have a challenging time expanding and reuniting their disjointed ranges.
Not to say they aren’t present, but we have yet to detect the rarest species, Magicicada septendecula, the “Little Seventeen-year Cicada”, among the various populations of Brood XIV Periodical Cicadas emerging in the lower Susquehanna valley. For the coming two weeks or so until this brood is gone for another 17 years, the search continues.
For more on both annual and periodical cicada species in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, be sure to click the “Cicadas” tab at the top of this page!
